The Grapes of Wrath

Fayeth, Placidia, and Gretchen guide Gideon towards Dawn Vineyard to meet with Demphana. Demphana thanks the party for joining them on what they consider an otherwise dull exercise, and introduces themselves to Gideon with Minister Farrow’s assistance. Demphana explains to the party that they will be assisting Echiche, their son, out in the fields, since Latomas is too tired to work, and Demphana is in the process of investigating the cause of the faulty bottles of wine. As Demphana heads inside, the rest of the party catch Gideon up on what has happened previously, and Gretchen gives a short overview of their conversation with Echiche in private.
The party meets with Echiche inside who, after giving the party a brief overview on what they’ll be doing and directing a grumpy Latomas back to bed after being assisted by Placadia and Gretchen, leads the party out into the fields.
While they work in the fields (or most of them, with Gideon employing the help of an unseen servant), Gretchen learns that there are no bugs or animals to be found in these vineyards. Meanwhile, Gideon notices magic on the grapes. Placadia confirms this to be transmutation magic, and she also spots the cordoned-off section of the vineyard. Echiche strongly warns them against going there, considering that his father has forbidden both himself and Latomas from going there. After arguing with him why it’s important they go there, the party catches on to his deception and realizes that he wishes to join them. The party discusses amongst themselves whether they should leave Echiche behind to ensure he doesn’t get into trouble, but decides to bring him along anyway.
The party continues their charade of assisting Echiche out in the fields, and after a brief break for a meal, heads into the restricted area of the fields with him. Echiche makes some comments about not touching the grapes to leave no trace, and reprimands Gretchen for attempting to take one anyway. Echiche also thanks the party for their help, noting that Latomas has grumpy days regularly, and they were lucky last time to catch him on a good day.
The party encounters a patch of discolored pink grass, and decides to investigate. Knowledge of arcana and detect magic spells do not discover anything. Gideon touches the grass and loses his voice just before the vine in front of him attacks. The party is forced to contend with the violent vine along with an additional monster that matches the description of a ‘waker.’ The rest of the party explains to Gideon that they had faced a ‘waker’ after consuming a bad batch of ‘Bringer of the Vision’ bottles. They manage to defeat the duo, even without Echiche’s help since during the battle the party vortex warped him away to safety.
The monsters defeated, Echiche becomes cagey on answering questions about if he knew who was responsible. (He had yelled “It’s him!” both before and after the battle.) Echiche encourages the party to dig under the grass in order to find who was responsible. The party, wanting to know for themselves, uses mold earth to avoid touching the grass and dig down, breaking through into a cave.
The party pushes through and begins to explore the cave, which they quickly realize was an outpost for an as-yet unknown cult. Placidia picks up a copy of a book called “Moehaune’s Manuscript” from within what appears to be a miniature chapel. Despite her extensive knowledge of religions, Placidia doesn’t recognize the name ‘Moehaune’.
A note written by one of the cult members is found. It says:

They are nearby, my master. His hour where he must learn what it is to control is upon us.
-Your servant, Markirci

The party, having explored the rooms and found nothing else of note, begins to look for cult members that they suspect are hiding somewhere nearby. After failing to light a fireplace, they discover that the fireplace was hiding a trapdoor. Placidia opens the door, only to realize her lack of stealth meant that the cultists inside were ready. Prepared spells and attacks are unleashed on Placidia. A battle ensues. Fayeth notices that Echiche, unlike the last fight, is unable to assist in fighting and is unmoving. Gretchen tries to dispel the magic holding him in position, but it fails. Despite this, the party goes on to win the fight. Echiche - now free of whatever had been holding him - thanks Gretchen for her attempt to help. Once again however, he fails to elaborate on who he believes was responsible. He tells the group to go ahead, leaving him to face the music from his father. The party agrees.